Recovery
by Zeeri
Summary: (Another Fortress of Tears like story, maybe a bit less tragic! Hence the cover) After Kaito suffers a major accident, putting him into a permanent coma, how will Len react? And how can Gakupo help Len overcome the life-changing loss? M for later chapters.


Tears streamed down his face, wet and sticky; he shook and clung to his bedsheets as he curled into them. It was late into the day by now, but he rarely got out of bed anymore unless he had a few drinks, and even then, he never left the house unless he had to get food. His fridge was running low on stock, and with a shuddered sigh he realised that perhaps today was the day. But the people out there were terrible people. He lost his Kaito because of them - the nasty people, the horrible people that lingered out there. He trusted only a few; Gakupo, Mikuo, Rin, Luka and perhaps one or two others. The rest of them were nothing. It was Gakupo's fault that Kaito had ever died, because he refused to believe that Kaito would be dumb enough to walk into the path of a car ... but, he felt as bad as Len did when they found him, led in a main road, surrounded by people. One of the people present was Kaiko; she was red around the eyes and sobbing so hard that she was unable to breathe. Luka helped her stand and wrapped her arms tightly around her, shaking her head. Most of the Vocaloids had gathered. All he knew from that point on was that Kaito was put into a coma on a life support machine and that soon they would have to unplug it.

That was three months ago, and he had heard nothing after. Pain wracked him - the times they spent together were all gone. And right before Kaito had been abandoned in that hospital wing, he smiled - Len swore he saw him smile - and tell him he would be back. A genuine smile and genuine happiness lingered in his features. If Kaito had died that day, and they could do nothing more, he was happy ... he was with whoever of his family had passed before him. Even so ... all the nights they'd shared together, the time they sat under the stars and pointed out constellations, or the times he came home to a warm roast and joyful conversation. When he got his own money, paid his own bills, wasn't so childlike and helpless. He had taken one step forwards, two steps back. He got up and stripped down, and walked to the bathroom, turning on the water to a boiling temperature, not even testing it before he moved under it. The steaming water didn't even make him flinch, but he heard some coding in the back of his mind, trying to trigger his sensory. When all emotions left him, he leapt from the shower and unlocked his phone, calling Gakupo. When he picked up, a dull thud and an audible command of 'emergency shutdown' came through.

When Gakupo got there, he'd ran in to find the bathroom door open upstairs, with a blonde haired boy led in the doorway. He frowned and lifted Len up while using his own phone to one-handedly call an ambulance. He bolted it outside with Len over one shoulder and lifted the handle behind him, carrying Len's phone and a pair of pyjamas grabbed from the basket by the door. Once the door was locked, he was meeted with a Vocaloid-specialist paramedic. He frowned and dug a finger into Len's spine, elicting a 'Rebooting program,' before he punched a few more buttons and a 'Program set to: safe mode,' came from the machine. He nodded and he and Gakupo took him to the ambulance, loaded him in and went straight to hospital. As soon as they had gotten there, they set up a bed for Len and led him there - coincidentally the same wing as Kaito, yet Gakupo knew no motion had been seen from him. He had not even opened his eyes. As they looked after Len, who he was sure would do fine; he had been under the same problem once, too, he went towards Kaito's bed.

"Kaito? ..." Gakupo murmured, leaning over the male. There was no response, as always. A sigh left him; although he knew Len and Kaito were perfect, he cared for Kaito as if he were his own love. Perhaps as a brother would be the better term. He reached over to lightly squeeze his hand, feeling the warmth, and felt some hope that he would be okay. Perhaps one day. "Len is here in this unit ... he has a malfunction, but maybe he would like to see you ... to know you are okay. I know you are." His left eye let loose a single tear, which he allowed to trail until it disappeared somewhere away from sight.  
Just as that tear disappeared, Gakupo froze. He twitched, and a paramedic rushed over to grasp Gakupo by the shoulders, expecting a malfunction - but Gakupo was smiling. Kaito slowly opened one eye, and then the other. He stared at Gakupo weakly, his face slightly pale, but seeming just as if he had suffered a bad flu. Hope. That hope was growing every second.  
"Len? ..." Kaito whispered, barely even a sound with the strength he had retained from before, which was not much. He lost a lot of who he was.  
"He is across the ward. Can you sit up?"  
A grunt, trembling. "No ... not yet ... too weak ... will he be better?" His eyes were slipping closed by the second, but a weak smile pulled his lips up. Gakupo returned the warmth in his expression, knowing. Just believing that this would not be it.  
"I promise." Gakupo murmured, planting a father-like kiss on Kaito's forehead. And just as he did, Kaito's expression relaxed and he fell into a deep sleep once more, but the machine did not show a lost heartbeat. Not even the weak one as before; his heartbeat was pounding, strong.  
"We can turn off the machine. He is already breathing and responding well; a few days, and perhaps he will be able to sit up and eat." The female medic smiled at Gakupo, looking as genuinely pleased as he did. She had sat by his side most nights, as Gakupo had, seen Kaito almost lifeless. Now, as she turned off the machine and saw him unaffectedly let out weak snores as he slept, both of them just turned and embraced. "We will keep a close eye on him. If he struggles, we will make sure we have something to keep him going. You can go and sit with Len when he wakes up for a while - he seems to be recovering already from his malfunction."  
"Thank you ..." He replied, all the good news getting to him. Swiping hot tears from his eyes, he nodded and moved to slump at Len's bedside."

-

"Kaito is alive, breathing, and they said he will be able to function right in a few days. He was talking to me earlier, though he could barely do it ..."  
Suddenly, Gakupo was squished into the chair by a beaming blonde, who laughed - along with Gakupo - as the chair tipped backwards and they ended up sprawled on the floor with a plant in their faces. Several nurses turned to quiet them and Gumi, leg in a cast, glared at them from across the room.  
"I've torn myself apart, thinking he was dead. By god, I'm one happy guy, Gaku'." Len looked over at Kaito and smiled. "As soon as he is awake and able to talk properly, let me know. When did they say he would be out?"  
"Two weeks?" He guessed. Len raised a brow.  
"It has to be like, a month. But I'm gonna stay here until he gets out. I'm not leaving my Kaito." Len rose and moved to sit by Kaito's bed after leaning over and planting kisses all over his face. "Never leaving you, Kaito. I'll be okay, I promise. You just get better."  
That night, Len didn't sleep - or, well, charge. But when he finally passed out from an empty battery, at daybreak, head on Kaito's stomach and hand in Kaito's, Kaito opened his eyes and slowly looked down. Before passing back out, he smiled, weakly squeezed Len's hand, and whispered three words.  
"I love you."


End file.
